Andretti Global has won six of the 10 INDY NXT by Firestone races this season, and it could be headed for another winner’s trophy at the season-ending Music City Grand Prix on Sept. 15, if an Open Test on Aug. 8 at Nashville Superspeedway is any indication.
English drivers Louis Foster and Jamie Chadwick were the two fastest competitors in testing on the 1.33-mile concrete oval. Foster led at 184.844 mph in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car, followed by Chadwick at 184.551 in the No. 28 VEXT machine.
That bodes well for Foster’s championship chances, as he leads the INDYCAR development series by 77 points over second-place Jacob Abel of Abel Motorsports – more than a race’s worth of points – with four races remaining. Three of those four races left are on ovals.
Foster has won five of the last seven races this season to take control of the championship.
“The momentum is great, but there’s no reason why we can’t carry it on,” Foster said. “We have a nice lead at the moment. It’s comfortable, but I’m not comfortable with it – I want it to be more. So, the target is to win more.”
Some other itemized deductions from the test that featured 21 drivers:
Chadwick Finding Pace on Ovals
Chadwick broke through with her first career INDY NXT victory in June with a dominant win from pole in June at Road America. But her strong performance at the Nashville Open Test proved she may contend for an oval victory in the stretch run of the season, too.
Her best lap was turned on the 89th of her 124 trips around the concrete oval, and she produced three consecutive laps over 181 mph from Laps 116-118, toward the end of the test.
Chadwick is fifth in the series standings, 15 points behind fourth-place Callum Hedge of HMD Motorsports and seven ahead of sixth-place Reece Gold of HMD Motorsports.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how these last few races pan out, being oval-heavy,” Chadwick said. “I’m really excited. It’s an area that I’m still learning a huge amount. We have strong cars on the ovals, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Rookies Raring To Go
While second-year series veterans Foster and Chadwick topped the speed chart, it’s also noteworthy that four rookies ended up among the top seven.
Caio Collet, winner in early June at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, was third at 183.931 in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car. Salvador de Alba Jr. was fourth at 183.676 in the No. 2 Grupo Indi car fielded by Andretti Cape INDY NXT, a partnership between Andretti Global and Cape Motorsports.
Myles Rowe ended up sixth at 183.081 in the No. 99 HMD Motorsports with Force Indy machine, while Hedge was seventh at 182.794 in the No. 17 HMD Motorsports car.
USAC Veterans on Track
Two USAC Silver Crown veterans participated in the Open Test.
Taylor Ferns continued her oval-only program this season with Bradford Allen/Abel Motorsports. She made her INDY NXT debut at Iowa, finishing 16th. She also is racing at the next event, the Outfront Showdown on Saturday, Aug. 17 at World Wide Technology Raceway, and at the Milwaukee Mile and Nashville events.
INDY NXT veteran Davey Hamilton Jr. tested the No. 11 car of HMD Motorsports. Hamilton, the son of INDYCAR SERIES veteran and INDYCAR Radio Network driver analyst Davey Hamilton, made three INDY NXT starts between 2016-18. No plans for a race this season have been announced yet for Hamilton.